I follow signs (I know they wind right back to you)
by chalantness
Summary: [Stiles/Lydia, Scott/Kira - post "Riddled"] They shouldn't go over there, especially after everything Stiles has been through, but Kira's staring at her and somehow she can tell the girl just knows she wants to see him.


**Title:** _I follow signs (I know they wind right back to you)  
_**Rating:** PG-13  
**Word Count:** ~1,600  
**Characters:** Kira/Lydia (friendship), Stiles/Lydia, Scott/Kira  
**Summary:** [Post "Riddled"] They _shouldn't_ go over there, especially after everything Stiles has been through, but Kira's staring at her and somehow she can tell the girl just _knows_ she wants to see him.

**A/N:** Something short but sweet to try and counter the emotional hell that "Riddled" put me through.

**I follow signs (I know they wind right back to you)**

Lydia can'thear anything other than herself until her throat is dry and coarse and her voice wavers into a cough, finally cutting her screams off. She jumps a little in her seat at the sudden tapping right next to her ear and turns to find Kira staring at her through the window, a worried and slightly terrified expression on her face as she's tapping rapidly on the glass. Lydia's hands are shaking as she fumbles with her seatbelt, only getting it undone after the third try and then grasping at the handle, throwing the car door open and practically falling onto the ground in her rush to get out. She regrets it almost immediately, though, because everything is so much _louder_ now and her head feels like it's going to split open.

_Make it stop!_

"Lydia," someone says. She turns and… right, Kira. Kira's in front of her and Lydia looks between them, wondering when she'd grasped onto the girl for support. "Lydia," Kira says again and Lydia closes her eyes.

"You…" Her voice sounds shitty, but hell, anyone's would be if they'd screamed as long as Lydia just had. "What are you still doing at school?"

Kira looks thrown. "My… my dad's working late and I was going to go home with him," she explains, still looking at Lydia with that worried expression. Lydia thinks that Kira reminds her vaguely of Scott with that expression, but the thought makes her think of Stiles and, in the distance, another door being slammed makes her flinch again. "Lydia, what's wrong?"

She shakes her head. Her heart is still hammering in her chest.

"What about Stiles?"

Lydia blinks, feeling dazed. "What?"

"You just said _Stiles_," Kira explains gently. "He's at Scott's house right now. Did you want to see him?"

She's about to shake her head. She doesn't know how late it is but either way, they _shouldn't_ go over there, especially after everything Stiles has been through. He needs rest. But then tires skid against the pavement somewhere in the distance, sounding much, much closer to Lydia's ears than it probably is, and she sucks in a gasp and digs her nails into Kira's arm, startled. As the car drives off, Lydia murmurs an apology as she loosens her grip, but Kira's staring at her and somehow she can tell the girl just _knows_ she wants to see him.

"Lydia, where are your keys?" Kira asks. Clearly she'll be the one driving.

It's a little comforting.

"They're…" Lydia pushes her bangs from her face, exhaling. "They're still in the car." Kira nods, though neither of them moves right away. "Your dad won't mind?"

Kira shakes her head. "He'll understand."

Lydia wants to ask how, what story she's told him or will be telling him to justify going somewhere this late on a school night, but she's tired and not in the mood for a fight. So she just nods and then walks around the car, buckling into the passenger seat and letting her body slump against the cushions. She feels completely drained.

They take a detour to Starbucks first that Lydia tries to protest against, but then Kira says she doesn't want to go to Scott's empty-handed and she knows it's been a long few hours for all of them, so getting some hot chocolate for everyone couldn't hurt.

"Besides, it'll help your throat a little," she adds, and Lydia winces as she swallows because, yeah, her throat feels really fucked up right now. It'll definitely be sore in the morning.

Lydia hesitates when Kira asks if she wants to wait in the car, but honestly, the last thing she wants to do is be alone right now and as strange as it is, being with Kira – technically still a stranger to her – is a little comforting. So she follows the girl inside and smiles a little when she asks the barista to add extra whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles to all of the drinks. Kira also gets a few different pastries, warmed, and Lydia helps her carry everything back to the car once all their stuff is ready. It's mostly quiet the entire drive there except for the automated voice from Kira's GPS giving out directions every other minute, but they've got the radio turned low and the heater on and Lydia starts to feel a little less pathetic.

It's been a _long_ day.

Melissa's the one to answer the door. She looks thoroughly tired, but she smiles at the girls like she's genuinely happy (or, as _happy_ as any of them can be nowadays) that they're visiting. "You're angels," she says, taking in what they've brought and adding, "We're in the living room," as she helps Kira with the pastry bags and leads the girls inside.

Lydia can hear that the TV's on, though as they walk into the room and see the boys sitting together, she can tell none of them are actually watching it.

And all three of them raise their eyebrows in surprise as they see her and Kira. It would've been funny, or at least amusing, if not for distress hovering over everyone.

"Sorry for the intrusion," Kira apologizes after a moment, sounding nervous.

"No, no, don't be," Scott reassures, getting up to help her. Like his mother, he seems exhausted but genuinely glad to see them, maybe even thankful for the surprise. Then he looks at Lydia, eyes filled with worry, and she manages a weak smile and a nod of reassurance that she's probably holding up better than you'd expect.

"It's not an intrusion if you girls brought gifts," the Sheriff jokes. Kira chuckles and hands him a drink and he takes a sip. "Is this…"

"Hot chocolate," Kira finishes. "I know, I'm sorry—I wanted to get coffee, but I didn't know what you guys would like and it was getting late and—"

Scott sets a hand on her arm, stopping her ramble, and says with a soft laugh, "Hot chocolate is great. Thank you." He's smiling a little wider now, the look in his eyes one of adoration, and Lydia watches as Kira gnaws on her lower lip a little as she returns his smile, her cheeks turning a faint pink. Lydia shouldn't find this as cute as she does – there's probably an unwritten code somewhere on not liking your best friend's ex-boyfriend's new crush – but it's kind of hard not to like Kira. And the girl _did_ just help Lydia, after all.

Eyes shifting, Lydia looks away and finally meets his eyes.

Stiles.

He's sitting on the couch underneath a beige duvet, nursing a hot chocolate in his hand. He gives her a smile – a tired smile, like everyone else has on, but still a very _Stiles_ kind of smile nonetheless – and Lydia lets out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and walks over to him before she even realizes it. "Hi," she says, which is very lame, but…

His eyebrows furrow. "Are you okay?"

"What?" The question catches her by surprise. Is _she_ okay? Is he serious?

"Honey, is your throat sore?" Melissa asks behind them.

Lydia touches her fingertips to her throat, almost having forgotten all the screaming she'd just done less than an hour ago. "No, I just…" She winces. Her voice sounds worse, and now that she's paying attention to it, it hurts to talk. "It's nothing," she reassures, voice cracking a little.

"Come here," Stiles says, lifting the duvet, and she doesn't even hesitate to settle into the couch beside him. Stiles hands her one of the hot chocolates and Kira settles in on Lydia's other side, and when Scott moves the duvet to cover all four of them, Lydia lets her body sink into the couch as she takes a sip of her drink. "Are you sure you're okay?" Stiles asks.

Right now, sitting next to him, Lydia's head is the quietest it's been since yesterday.

"I will be," she whispers, meaning it.

Kira touches her arm gently, giving her a reassuring smile, and on the girl's other side, Scott leans over to give her a relieved grin. She can feel that Melissa and the Sheriff have their eyes on her, too, in that subtle but alert way all parents get, and honestly, other than with her own parents, this is kind of the safest she's felt in a long, long time. So she nods at them and they all seem to relax a little at her answer, settling into their seats. The clock on the wall reads that it's almost 9:00. She should probably be getting home and so should Kira, honestly, but she doesn't feel like leaving – not at all – and as Melissa's flipping through the channels, Lydia slips out of her shoes and brings her legs up, sipping her drink again.

ABC Family is a few minutes into _A Cinderella Story_, and even though the boys protest against it for like, half a minute, that's what they settle on to watch. Lydia pulls her phone out from her pocket, types a quick text to her mom to let her know she's fine and will be home later, and then takes a bite out of the chocolate croissant Stiles hands her.

She keeps glancing at Stiles in her peripheral, though, even when Chad Michael Murray is on the screen, and underneath the covers, she feels his slowly hand slide over hers.

"What's wrong?" he whispers.

"Nothing," she replies softly, still looking at him. He gives her an unconvinced look and she feels herself smile. "I'm just relieved to see you."

He blinks slowly, says, "Oh," in this soft voice, and she sees the realization in his eyes. He nods a little bit to himself, lips twitching into a grin, and she smiles a little wider because he's being so very _Stiles_ right now and she kind of loves it. "I'm glad you came to visit," he tells her, squeezing her hand a little, and grins behind her cup as she takes another sip.

Her hand doesn't leave his all night.


End file.
